Gender and Sexuality

Girls can play with dolls, but boys can play with toy guns. That's just how it is, right? Why is it like this, and does it have to be this way?

• What is the difference between sex and gender?
• What does it mean to be transgender? Nonbinary?
• What is discrimination that members of the LGBT+ community face?
• What are different psychological perspectives that affect sexual orientation and gender diversity?

The Difference Between Sex and Gender

Figuring out the difference between sex and gender can be confusing. To put it simply, sex is biological. Gender, on the other hand, is much more complicated.

Biological Sex

Biological sex is based on the physiological differences between male, female, and intersex people. A person’s sex involves their primary and secondary sex characteristics. Primary sex characteristics are related to the reproductive system, such as genitalia. Secondary sex characteristics are not necessarily related to the reproductive system, such as breasts and facial hair.

Most people think that biological sex is binary - male and female. Sex is determined by many factors, such as chromosomes and gonads. Variations of these factors can mean that someone is intersex. One of the easiest ways to tell is through chromosomes. Usually, females have XX chromosomes, and males have XY. However, XO, XXX, XXY, and more variations are possible. At first glance, you might not be able to “tell” that someone is intersex. Other times, there might be physical indicators, such as having both male and female genitalia.

Gender Roles and Gender Typing

“Boys don’t cry.” “Only girls can play with dolls.” There's no doubt that you heard something like that growing up. What you heard was a part of the process called gender typing. Gender typing is what a child experiences and learns as they become aware of their gender.

For instance, a boy may play with trucks, avoid “girly” toys, and want to grow up to be hyper-masculine. That boy adopts the behaviors and characteristics of people he believes have the same gender. If he sees the men around him go fishing, he may also want to go fishing. The boy is assimilating to fit in with the other males in his life.

Gender roles are taught and passed down from generation to generation through social learning theory. The boy saw all of the men in his life go fishing, and so did those men, and so on. Behaviors that fit into the expectation of being a man are encouraged, and ones that do not are punished.

Because of the reinforcement of gender roles, one theory says that children create cognitive categories for masculinity and femininity. This is called gender schema theory. From there, children recognize and do things that match their gender roles. For example, boys might be encouraged to play aggressive sports such as football, but girls would be discouraged from doing so.

Transgender and Nonbinary Identities

It’s one thing not to always conform to gender roles, but what if you don’t fit in with your gender or sex? That’s where transgender identities come in. People who are transgender identify and express their gender in a way that’s different from their biological sex. People who are comfortable with the sex they were born with are called cisgender.

Transgender people may struggle with something called gender dysphoria. Their biological sex and sex characteristics cause distressing feelings, and they might want to change some of them.

Fig. 1 Transgender and gender dysphoria, pixabay.com

How could she help her gender dysphoria? She might undergo hormone replacement therapy to naturally develop secondary sex characteristics that better align with her gender identity. She could also opt for gender affirmation surgeries, which are a variety of procedures that could help her body match her gender identity better. However, she might not undergo any medical procedures but only focus on her gender expression. She might grow out her hair, wear different clothes, try out makeup, or use a different name. The possibilities are endless.

But wait, what about nonbinary people? People do not always fit into the “male” or “female” binary and are often referred to as gender-diverse people. Some people might fluctuate between male and female; others may identify as both. They may choose to present more androgynous or gender-neutral. Gender identity exists on a spectrum, with many different identities and experiences.

Defining Sexual Orientation or Sexuality

Your sexual orientation or sexuality is different from your gender identity. Gender is how you represent yourself socially, whereas sexuality is who you love or are attracted to sexually.

The majority of couples you will see in movies and TV are heterosexual. This means that they are attracted to the opposite sex, such as girls liking boys and boys liking girls. However, not everyone is heterosexual. Just like gender identity, sexuality is a spectrum. Homosexual people are attracted to people of the same sex.

Fig. 2 Homosexual or gay marriage, pixabay.com

Some people like multiple genders, not just one. The most common term for people attracted to multiple genders is bisexual, but various labels exist. Being bisexual doesn’t mean that attraction is even. Some might like females more than males, or vice versa. Others might be attracted to people, no matter gender identity or expression.

Not everyone experiences sexual attraction. Asexual people experience very little or no sexual attraction. Being asexual is not a choice and doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have sex. Asexual people can still date, romantically love, and have sexual intercourse with a partner.

The Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

Sexuality and gender identity are not dictated by one specific thing but by various factors and perspectives.

• The Biological Perspective. The Y chromosome contains the instructions for the growth of male sex organs and the synthesis of male sex hormones. Male sex hormones influence brain development. Typically, the female corpus callosum is larger than the male, which might influence lateralization in the brain. Hormonal differences at puberty influence not only boys’ greater height but also their added musculature and more aggressive tendencies.

• The Evolutionary Perspective. According to the evolutionary perspective, our behavioral tendencies prepare us to survive and reproduce. Males are more likely than females to be risk-takers, show dominance, and achieve high status. Females are more likely to be concerned with their appearance to attract high-status, protective males.

• The Psychoanalytic Perspective. Freud’s psychoanalytic perspective suggests that young girls learn to act feminine from their mothers, and young boys learn to act masculine from their fathers when they identify with their same-sex parent due to resolving either the Electra or Oedipal complex at around age five.

• The Behavioral Perspective. According to social learning theory, children respond to rewards and punishments for their behavior. They observe and imitate significant role models, such as their parents, to acquire their gender identity.

• The Cognitive Perspective. According to the cognitive perspective, children actively engage in making meaning out of the information they learn about gender. Rather than seeing masculinity and femininity as alternatives, many psychologists now recognize androgyny, the presence of desirable masculine and feminine characteristics in the same individual.

Researchers have spent years looking at the differences between genders. Differences in expressing emotions, mental illnesses, and relationship affection have been noted. However, it is difficult to tell what are biological differences and what are social norms and gender roles. Despite this, women and men are overwhelmingly similar. They are far more similar than they are different.